Oops!I’ve let another
whole quarter go by without updating this blog.Quite a lot has happened…

Levi had surgery in January.The same doctor who has been helping Mia took Levi in for ear tubes, but
quickly discovered his adenoids were HUGE, as were his tonsils.So, out they came!He seems to be doing much much better with his hearing and with what used to be
constant sinus drainage.

February brought Mandy’s fourth and final ear surgery.The transformation isn’t perfect,
but it is amazing nonetheless.Her
skin graft is almost healed at this point, and it’s looking pretty good.

Praise the Lord we closed on our old house in mid-March!It’s great to have that chapter
closed.We’ve also said
goodbye to my old Mazda.It served
us well for ten years, but with 170,000 miles, it was time to retire it.I was researching and looking for a
replacement when Nolan began working the Ford Mustang angle.(He’s been a Mustang fan for a
while.)I agreed to take him on a
test ride – just for fun – at the local Ford dealership, but I
warned him, “I don’t think I’m going to like it.”I was wrong.It was a lot of fun to drive, but that
particular one wasn’t right for us.We spent the next few weeks looking for another.We found a blue one, but Carfax said it had been wrecked.We found a couple of others that were
priced too high.Finally, I found
one in a nearby town that was priced well and had the features I wanted.So, much to Nolan’s glee, I am the
owner of a (used) 2009 Ford Mustang.

Baseball is getting into full swing.All four boys are playing this year, and that has Kim and me running in
different directions on most weeknights.I’m coaching Nolan and Garrett on the same team and Nate on
another.If I could have managed to
coach three teams, I would have signed up to coach Levi, too, but that’s
just not possible.

The girls are still loving their dance classes
and are gearing up for the big recital at the end of May.

We are looking forward to warmer weather, a camping trip, and our summer
activities!

Another
month, and for that matter another year, has flown by!Where did 2008 go?!I’m not sure what happened to the
time while we were busy with baseball, moving, homeschooling,
working, buying a house, trying to sell a house, adding a new member to our
family (not to mention a dog, a cat, a rabbit, and a guinea pig), etc.But here we are – another New
Year’s Eve!Somehow the idea
of a new year brings thoughts of a new beginning – a fresh start –
and I am eagerly awaiting what God has in store for us
in 2009, whatever that may be!

2008
has been a good year!Nolan just
turned 12 (unbelievable), and this year has been one of incredible growth for
him in a lot of ways, but physical growth is the most obvious.He’s 5’ 4 ½”
and currently is only 1 ½ shoe sizes behind his dad.He has developed an interest in
mechanical things – how they work, how he can fix them, and how he can
make them better.He enjoys helping
Dad with any necessary auto repair or DIY projects around the house.He continues his interest in veterinary
medicine and still wants to pursue that as a career path, but has decided OklahomaState
may be a better choice than Texas A&M since
it’s closer to home and TexasA&MVetSchool is so hard to get
into.Mom and Dad swallowed hard,
sucked it up, and accepted it.JThen we
realized having him closer to home may work out better for us, too.I think Nolan’s commitment to
helping sick animals grew even stronger when he lost his beloved young yellow
lab, Harley, this spring.Harley had
a severe case of hip displatia and had to be put down
when the discomfort became too great for him.His place in our home was filled this
summer by Elvis, another AWESOME yellow lab, but Harley will always have a
place in our hearts.He was an
incredible pup.Nolan is developing
into an awesome young man.He
continues to impress me with his ability to explore and research anything and
everything that interests him, which includes pretty much anything that can be
driven, ridden, or blown up.JHis guitar
playing is improving, too!

Garrett
continues to develop his culinary acumen as he helps Mom with creations in the
kitchen any chance he gets.He’s still a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, and he takes it pretty
well when Dad and Nolan raz him about Romo’s pinky finger.He has amazed us with his progress as a
drummer!While practice time has
induced many a parental headache, it has been worth it to see his talent unleashed.(Thanks to Jaymi,
who took her lunch hour once per week to come to our house and work with him!)Garrett is
still also the compassionate one in the family, and while he will put up a
fight with his siblings, he can’t stand to see anyone else – family
or not – hurting, suffering, or in need.Even at the age of 9, he’ll give
the shirt off of his back to help someone else.

Mandy
has blossomed this year.We think
she was simply in survival mode early in the year as she tried to grasp a new
language and new culture, but she’s moved past that and is learning the
meaning of “family” and beginning to realize that she is loved
unconditionally.Her reading is
coming along very well, and she’s beginning to like school.Her interest and talent is in dance, and
she’s really come along this year!She’s working hard at it, and it shows more and more as her
confidence and abilities develop.

Nate
is still laid-back Nate!He may be
the biggest of the Smith boys when it’s all said and done if he keeps
growing like this!He’s still
a dog lover (a lover of all animals, really, but especially dogs), and it
wouldn’t surprise me if he and Nolan ended up in a veterinary practice
together one day!He continues to
be the affectionate son (though Levi is beginning to give him a run for his
money) and can be counted on to brighten our day with hugs.He recently decided he wanted to round
out the Smith boy band as the bass player, and Santa hooked him up with an
electric bass guitar and Peavey amp.

Levi
has only been with us for 4 ½ months, but it feels like he’s been
here much longer.He has fit in so
well as a member of our family!He
is…what’s the word…studious?attentive?
…not sure how to describe it, but he takes in the
detail of everything he sees.Kim thinks he may be the engineer of the group.He loves to figure out how things
work.He loves music and dance and
sings much of the time he is playing or working on something.He’ll have surgery on his ears,
soon, and I’ll be very excited to see his reaction when we can hear music
more clearly – not to mention the positive impact we think it will have
on his speech and his understanding of what we are telling him.

Mia
is still…MIA!She is just excited about life.She brightens a room when she walks in,
and though we are trying to tame the four-year-old “sass” in her,
she knows no stranger or enemy.In
her eyes, anyone who is not her friend just hasn’t come to know her
yet!She, too, is enjoying dance,
but more for the social aspect than for the love of dance that her big sister
has.She’s in the frilly
princess stage, as annoying and as fun as it can be.I think this year she finally decided
that both Mom and Dad were OK, and she has finally come to understand/accept us
as family.

I’m
proud to be Daddy to all of them (but you couldn’t tell that, huh?).

Kim’s
been doing nothing this year.She
usually just sits on the couch and watches TV.Sleeps in ‘til 10AM or
so…What a life!Actually, I just wrote that because
she’s standing over my shoulder waiting for me to come play a game with
the kids.So, time to go!

I
will say this…NEWS
FLASH!!!Yesterday, we accepted an
offer on our old house!It
wasn’t quite what we wanted, but in this market, I’m not sure
anyone is getting what they want for their houses…It was at least a palatable offer.So, we’re hoping everything works
out and we can put this behind us.Thanks to those of you who have prayed for this situation, and please
continue to pray that everything goes smoothly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

December
1, 2008

I
hope you had a great Thanksgiving!We took a trip to be with Kim’s family and had a great visit.Levi got to meet his aunts, uncles,
cousins, PaPa, and the rest of the gang, (There were
38 of us at Thanksgiving dinner.) and he had a blast.It was also Mandy’s first time to
meet some of the family, and she’s really beginning to get a sense of
what family is all about.It’s great to watch them grow!

We
had a warm weekend before Thanksgiving.So, the big boys and I took advantage of the weather and put up our
outdoor Christmas lights and then set up the tree inside.Mia was SO excited!When I was almost done, she took a look
at it all and said (in her most expressive tone), “Daddy, thank you for
setting up my Christmas stuff.You
are the Christmas Hero!”Everyone got a kick out of that, and I’ve taken plenty of razzing
from Kim and the boys, but she just melted my heart.;)

October
13, 2008 – Autumn

I love the beauty of autumn.But there are some things about autumn
that haunt me…

October 9, 2008 - Official Custody

We had Levi’s custody hearing today.We are now his official legal guardians
and his name has been changed to ours!He’s come up to me several times today and stated his full
name.How cool is that?!Things continue to go very well with
him.His bonding and attachment to
our family continues to gradually progress, and he is a huge blessing to our
family.His siblings love him, and
it is wonderful to see his smile, which is almost constantly present.He loves to go outside and play sports
– especially baseball.He
loves music and will bang on Daddy’s keyboard or sing just about any time
he gets the chance.He admires his
older brother and loves to tag along with him, and he tries to imitate his
Dad.(Uh-Oh!)He loves to go to church and tells us
his bible stories on the way home.He has a sharp sense of humor.He rarely stays in one place for more than a few minutes.J

Levi and
Mia are doing “pre-school” at home while the big kids do their home
school work.To the left is a shot
of them building flower designs with plastic blocks.They work well together!

Elvis,
Nolan’s puppy, is five months old now.He is 52 pounds and is a typical lab
puppy.He’s beautiful and
very energetic.Nolan has been
working hard to train him to sit, heel, lay down, “drop” objects,
“leave” objects alone, etc.They’re making progress, and Nolan has really taken his
responsibility seriously with the pooch.The whole family is pretty taken with our “Old yeller”
look-alike.One night after bath
time, he got a rare opportunity to lay on the couch with Nolan.

Mandy is doing well, too, and her next ear reconstruction surgery will be
on October 30th.She’s anxious to be done with it, and this will be the
next-to-last operation.So,
we’re in the home-stretch!She continues to adjust to our family and is finding her place –
learning to love and be loved, learning to trust and be trusted.It’s been a challenge as she comes
to understand these foreign concepts, but each day brings progress.She loves to go to church, too, and her
favorite part of the school day is bible study.She is so open to the word of God and is
soaking it up!

August
26, 2008

Welcome
Levi!!!Levi is our newest
addition!Like our girls, Levi was
born in China.His path to our family was a little bit
different than the girls’ paths, but God’s hand was just as evident
in Levi’s story.He is an
active four-year-old and has fit right in with our crazy crew!He is enjoying his new family, and his
siblings are certainly enjoying their new brother.There will be more to come as we work
through the court system to make him “legally” part of our family.

Mia’s BirthdayWe celebrated Mia’s
birthday over the weekend.She is
growing into such a beautiful young lady.She is growing out of the three-year-old self-centered stage (meaning
less whining – YEAH) and really developing a love and concern for
others.She is becoming quite the
courteous princess!She had a
mermaid party, and she and her friends enjoyed time in the kiddie
pools and sprinklers at our place.She got some really cute presents, which she’s enjoying.It was a big day for her, and it was a
lot of fun for all of us.We praise
God every day for this new house!While we’d love to bring the decorating into the 21st
century, it has been so nice having a place for the kids to play outside, space
to spread out inside, more than one “useable” bathroom, and a barn
loft to serve as the boys’ clubhouse!The covered patio between the house and
the garage came in really handy for the cake and ice cream time this weekend,
too!Thanks to all of you who came
to make Mia’s day extra special!

Back to SchoolAll of the
kids started school this week.Be
sure to check out the photo album page for some cute photos of the crew!Kim got an idea from another home
schooling mom and employed me as the bus driver – not too much of a
stretch since we drive a one-ton 12 passenger van!We loaded up the kids and drove around a
block of county roads back to the house, again.Then unloaded and herded them through
the front door of our “Academy”.JI also decided to write short
“Daddy Love Letters” to each of them and placed them in their
backpacks in hopes they’d find them when they began their assignments.That surprise was spoiled a little bit
when one of the boys discovered his before we even did our “bus
ride”, prompting the others to check their backpacks to see if I’d
left them a letter, too.Even
though they found them prematurely, they enjoyed their notes.Kim has done a great job of organizing
the school days for this year – a necessity with 6 students at different
levels…She’s keeping
them on-schedule and on-task, and I think that will keep things less stressful
this year.

The ChapmansHave you been keeping up with
Stephen Curtis Chapman and his family?Their five-year-old daughter, Maria, was killed last May in a tragic
accident at their home, and they’ve since been on Good Morning America,
Larry King Live, and yesterday, today, and tomorrow on
the Focus on the Family radio program.They are a great family of faith. If you haven’t heard their story,
you can see videos of the interviews at http://www.stevencurtischapman.com.These pictures were drawn by Maria on the
morning of the accident, and the story related to them is an amazing
testimony.Check out the interviews
to hear about it!

August 4,
2008

July
30th marked the first anniversary of Mandy’s “Gotcha
Day” – the day she joined our family.The past year has been filled with ups
and downs and she has learned to love us and we have learned to love her.We’ve experienced frustration as
we’ve tried to communicate; we’ve experienced pain as a confused
little girl lashed out at her mother.We’ve experienced excitement and sat in awe as she opened up the
window of her heart and shared stories about her life in China.Sometimes those stories have brought
heartache.We’ve experienced
fear, wondering if things would ever “click” between us, and
we’ve experienced blessings when they finally did.Best of all, we’ve experienced
love – unconditional love.The transformations that have taken place in the last few months have
been amazing.We are truly blessed
to have this little girl in our family!

July 19,
2008 – I give up…

My blog is suffering from the “stuff” that always
seem to take priority.So,
I’m giving up on trying to keep the more
frequent updates rolling, and I’ll just resign myself to the monthly or
bi-monthly updates.

The House

We
had a contract on our old house.We
were supposed to close the week of the 21st, but it didn’t pan
out.An unmarried couple was
planning to buy it, and they split up.So, they backed out on the house.So, we’re back to showing it and trying to find a buyer.All of that is not as stressful as it
once was because the house is EMPTY!!!That’s right!We
already bought and moved into our NEW house!We found a big nice house on a couple of
acres with room to spread out and play, and the price was right.So, we went for it!We’re loving
it so far, although moving and trying to set up the house has been quite the
chore…The boys are having a
blast playing outside in their big yard and in the loft of their new barn.They finally have room for baseball
practice at home, too!BUT, they
quickly discovered that Nolan’s 3-wood isn’t a very good idea when
he parked several (Dad’s not quite sure how many) golf balls inthe back yard
of the neighbors two doors down.The girls’ room is twice the size of their old one, and they are loving having space to play, too.Mom and Dad are most excited about
having our own room and a private bathroom!Nobody has to go through our domain in
order to shower or brush their teeth (which was the case in our old house, with
the master bath being the only bathroom on the first floor).

Baseball

We
wrapped up our local Little League season at the end of June.My duties carried into July as we hosted
a couple of Little League District tournaments.It was a lot of work, and it was fun,
but I am glad to have a break, now.I’ll get to focus the next few weeks on working on the boys’
pitching, fielding, and hitting, and that will be a nice change of pace.

Mandy’s
Surgery

Mandy
had her Phase II surgery this past week.It went very well!She is
pretty proud of her new ear and came through all of it fine.The picture was taken the day after the
procedure.So, I apologize if
it’s too graphic.There’s quite a bit of swelling, still.But, as you can see, they’ve taken
her “small ear” and formed the earlobe and the beginnings of the
hard “flap” in front of the earhole.Mandy actually gave a big smile when she
saw it for the first time and exclaimed/questioned, “How does my doctor
do that so good?!”It has been quite a dramatic change.

Puppy

We had to put our yellow lab down not long after my last post.He was only a year old, and we had grown
so attached to him.It was hard on
all of us.Harley was quite an
awesome dog for our family!He
started having trouble playing and running and developed a limp.Over time, we noticed the limping
getting worse, and he didn’t seem to want to put any weight on his hind
legs.X-Rays confirmed that he had
hip displatia (sp?), which is apparently not uncommon
in large breed pure bred dogs.Basically, the balls of the femurs did not sit properly in the hip
sockets – so he couldn’t support his own 90 pound body.We managed the pain with medication as
long as we could, but the day eventually came when we had to say good-bye.We miss him bunches…

We can’t replace Harley, but we did add a new addition –
another yellow lab named ELVIS!He
is quite the cutie, too!We got him
from a breeder in a town about 20 miles from us.We met Elvis at about four weeks old,
and waiting those next four weeks to be able to bring him home was tough!The day finally came, though, and he has
been here with us and spoiled as can be for the last four weeks.He is now a 24.5 pound 12-week old who
thinks he is just another one of the kids.They love him in spite of his razor sharp puppy teeth, and he is pretty
well-behaved for a lab puppy.The
girls are doing surprisingly well with him.Mandy has always been a little fearful
of dogs, and Mia has a knack for becoming a squeaky chew toy.The puppy incidents have been minor though,
and he hasn’t destroyed the new house, yet.

The
“stuff” is calling, again, so I must close until next month (or
perhaps the next).Thanks for
taking the time to read my blog.J

May 16,
2008 – I’ve waited far too long to update my web page!

We
have been so busy lately, I simply have not made the
time to maintain my web page!That’s ok though, since most of you keep up with us through
Kim’s blog on Blogspot
and never read mine anyway!JHere’s my feeble attempt to catch up on all (or at least some) of
the events.

Mandy’s
Surgery

Shortly
after our celebration of Mia’s Forever Family Day, we made the trek to
Arkansas Children’s Hospital for Phase I of Mandy’s four phase ear
reconstruction.She has been
waiting anxiously for a long time for this procedure, but illness and the
dreaded fights with insurance companies have delayed it until now.She was quite a brave patient and was
very excited until right before the surgery.The anesthesiologist gave her some
medicine to calm her before they took her back, and once it took effect and her
inhibitions were taken away, she had a little, well… ok…, a BIG
meltdown.We were instantly
reminded of the walls this little girl has built up to protect herself from
being hurt, and we were saddened that it took medication to allow her to relax
enough to show her real emotions.We realized then how scared she was that she was going to be put to
sleep and Mommy and Daddy wouldn’t be with her until after she woke
up.We reassured her and promised
we’d both stay at the hospital until she woke up and saw us, and that one
of us would always be with her after that.She got her composure back, and off she went for the beginnings of her
“new ear”.Then, Mommy
and Daddy got to have our mini-meltdowns.JOur concern wasn’t about the surgery, but about how we could
continue to pull back the layers to get through those walls around her
heart.We are confident it will
come in time.The walls
weren’t built in a day, and they can’t be torn down in a day.With God’s grace, we’ll get
there.The surgery went very
well.She was very sore for a
couple of days, but bounced back very quickly and only spent two nights in the
hospital.(If they’d taken
the cartilage and tips of three of MY ribs, I’d still be in the hospital
whining!)She’s pretty proud
of the beginning of her new ear, and as you can see from the photo, it is
really beginning to take shape!

Garrett’s
Birthday

Garrett
chose a trip to a nearby town for a pizza party with some friends for his
birthday.We had a blast playing in
the arcade and visiting with one of the families who traveled
with us on our first trip to China.We are privileged to remain close
friends with them, and Garrett and their daughter remain especially close.Garrett is becoming such a cool young
Christian man!He is so thoughtful
of others, and we are so proud of him!He continues to have a love for food and an interest in cooking.He’s a chatter-box, too, so he
just may replace Bobby Flay on the Food Network someday! JHe is
inquisitive and loves to learn, provided the learning doesn’t come from a
book, and he is an awesome big brother to his sisters.It’s hard to believe it has been 9
years since he made his pre-mature entrance into our lives, but he is truly a
blessing to us, and we are proud to be his parents!

House for
Sale

Yep!This house was a LOT
bigger when we moved in with three boys!The addition of two girls has strangely made it much cozier!JSo, we spent most of March and April
completing repairs that we’d procrastinated on, as well as some
remodeling.We finally removed the
water-damaged sheetrock and hideous wallpaper from our master bathroom and
replaced it with Venetian plaster and tile.We threw in some new trim, hardware, and
window treatments, and it’s almost not recognizable now!Changes to the other rooms were not as
drastic.We painted the living and
dining rooms, as well as the laundry room, and recovered the laundry room
floor.The list of
“little” things could go on and on, but we suffice it to say we
“decluttered” a LOT,
and our house shows pretty well now.We’ve had lots of activity from the realtors in the three weeks
it’s been on the market.We’re just waiting for that perfect offer.(We’d settle for
“close” to perfect.)J

Baseball

Spring
has sprung, and our house if filled with the smell of leather baseball gloves
(and sweaty socks, but we won’t go there…)I love baseball, and I’m
fortunate enough to share the love of the game (at least for now) with all
three of my boys.This year has been
cool because I have actually been able to coach all three of them.Nolan and Garrett are playing on the
same Little League team, and Nate is playing Tee Ball.I asked one of my fellow Little League
board members to work with me on the scheduling to minimize conflicts in
schedules for practices and games, and we even managed to have the same sponsor
for both teams!It has worked out
really well, and I’m glad they all enjoy having Dad as their coach.

Mandy’s
Birthday

Let
me tell you, I have never seen a kid count down the days to a party the way
Mandy did hers.The poor girl had
NEVER had a birthday party, and she was ready to make her eighth birthday one
BIG P-A-R-T-Y!!!She kept adding
invitees to the list, one after the other, until Kim finally had to say,
“Enough!”We had
eighteen little princesses in our home for the tea party and fashion show.Mandy invited them to wear their
favorite Spring dresses or princess costumes.She chose to dress as Snow White.Grandma helped me put her hair in sponge
rollers in an attempt to curl it.The attempt was successful, and she enjoyed her bouncy curls for about
three days!Her three brothers
donned matching shirts and served the girls tea, finger sandwiches, and cookies.The girls
created/decorated their own hats which they proudly displayed in the ensuing
“fashion show”.They were so fun to watch.Some really worked the crowd in the living room, spinning and twirling
in their dresses, while others simply made a bee-line for their moms.I have to admit, I wasn’t too
excited about a house full of little girls, but we had a blast!Mandy really enjoyed it, and it was nice
to have so many people come to make her day so special.We are truly blessed to be her parents. She has come so far with her grasp of
English and with her responsibilities in our family, as well as with a very
different form of schooling from what she had in China.She has had to adapt to so many
different things since joining our family, and her progress is remarkable.We have had our tough days.There are times she doesn’t really
“like” her new Mommy and Daddy, and there are days we feel guilty
because we don’t really “like” what she’s doing, but we
love her, and she’s learning to love us, too. She is really coming along in her dance
classes.She loves music and
especially loves ballet.She has
some natural talent, and even though she joined her class late, she’s
caught up with the other students.It’s fun to watch her because she enjoys it so much.(And that’s saying a LOT because I
can’t stinkin’ stand ballet!!!)She has become a very helpful big sister
to Mia, even though they have their moments.We sometimes get frustrated with her
need to be the center of attention, but then again, maybe sometimes
that’s good for her.

April 4,
2008 – GOTCHA, GOTCHA, GOTCHA!!!

Two years
ago, today, I became the father of my first DAUGHTER!She was placed in Kim’s arms in a
hot, humid room in the Civil Affairs office in Guangzhou and began screaming her head
off!JFortunately, that didn’t last
long.Over the past two years,
we’ve been truly blessed by her smiles, her sense of humor, and her
“princesshood”.(Hey, it’s my blog.I can make up words if I want to!)We’ve had our ups and downs, but
it has been truly amazing to watch this girl who came to us as a scared and
confused little toddler transform into our daughter – learning to love us
and to accept our love, learning to fight with her brothers like every little
sister should, then making them feel guilty and milking it for all it’s
worth.JGod
could not have planned it any better, and we are so thankful he chose us to be
blessed by our Mia!

HERE'S HOW YOU PLAY. ONCE YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED YOU HAVE TO WRITE A BLOG OF
TEN WEIRD, RANDOM THINGS, FACTS OR HABITS ABOUT YOURSELF. AT THE END, YOU
CHOOSE FIVE PEOPLE TO BE TAGGED, LISTING THEIR NAMES AND WHY YOU CHOSE THEM TO
BE TAGGED. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE THEM A COMMENT "YOU'RE IT" AND TO
READ YOUR BLOG. YOU CAN'T TAG THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU. SINCE YOU CAN'T TAG
THAT PERSON BACK, LET HIM OR HER KNOW WHEN YOU'VE POSTED YOUR BLOG SO HE OR SHE
CAN READ YOUR ANSWERS.

1)I’m
flat-footed.If I’m on my
feet too long, it will feel like the bottoms of my feet are being painfully
stretched.Fortunately, ASICS
running shoes prevent the pain better than anything I’ve found.(Nikes are the worst!)

2)I love
baseball!(Betcha
didn’t know that!)

3)No matter
how much they beg when I walk in the door after being gone, I refuse to kiss my
daughters until I’ve kissed their mother.

4)I am
sometimes aggravated by improper English.I quickly learned that people don’t particularly like you when you
tell them they sound like idiots, so I’ve learned to suppress this
aggravation.

5)I wore
glasses from age 9 and bi-focals from age 14 until I
experienced the miracle of LASIK about 4 years ago.Going from 20/500 to 20/12 in 36 hours
is a miracle!

6)I was voted
“Most Likely to Succeed” by my high school senior classmates.(Man, what were theysmokin’?)

7)I have, in
fact, walked and chewed gum at the same time.

8)I have also
walked and chewed tobacco at the same time, but not once in the past 11
½ years!

9)I annoy my
wife by constantly checking email on my phone.

10)I don’t follow directions,
well, and that’s why I’m not tagging anyone else.(Not to mention the fact that my blogging friends have all pretty much been tagged…)

February
20, 2008

Sorry that
it’s been so long.Things
have been crazy since the start of a new year.But, the Christmas decorations are put
away, and things are returning to normal.Nate’s officially a “big boy” now as he has lost his
first two teeth.Mandy and Mia have
started dance classes, and they are quite the talented princesses.Nolan and I have been taking guitar
lessons together, and Garrett continues his drum lessons.AND, we’re gearing up for a new
baseball season!(Don’t
remind Kim of that, though.Not
exactly her favorite time…She calls herself the baseball widow when I disappear for Little League
Board Meetings, tryouts, draft night, etc.)As you can see from the photo album,
we’ve also been re-decorating the house a little bit – just in time
to sell it!JAt
least that’s a possibility…The addition of two little girls and the extra space required to homeschool 4 out of 5 has made this house suddenly
shrink.So, we are looking at a few
houses in the area that are laid out a little better and that have some land
for the kids to play.Wish us luck!

Mandy’s
surgery was scheduled for tomorrow, but she hasn’t been able to shake the
chest congestion and cough after the “bug” we all passed
around.I came down with pneumonia
the day after my last blog update and struggled for
about two weeks.At one point, all
seven of us were stuck in bed with whatever bug was going around.It was a tough one this year, as it took
each of us 7 to 10 days to shake it, and then another week or so of feeling
really tired.But back to the
subject at hand, her surgery has been rescheduled for early April.The poor girl has to wonder if Mommy and
Daddy are just teasing her about her new ear – this makes twice we got
her all geared up and ready for it, only to tell her we aren’t going.

The
family is continuing to gel.Mandy
has come a long way in 6 months, and so have her siblings.They all seem to have re-established
their places in the family pecking order, and the shock of adding a sibling
right in the middle of the ages of the others has finally been worked out.Like any set of siblings, they have
their moments with each other, but they love each other, and we’re
starting to have some really good days to offset the rough ones.We are certainly blessed, even as we
struggle through some of the challenges.

January
1, 2008 – Happy New Year

We hope you
all have gotten off to a good start in 2008!We returned to the cold of Southwest Missouri after a week and a half with my family
down south.It was good to get to
visit with everyone.My parents and
aunt and younger sister, along with her husband and two daughters, converged
with us upon my older sister’s house for Christmas.All together, we had 9 adults and 11
kids under on roof!If was quite a
crowd, but we managed to coordinate shower schedules well enough.JMy younger sister is living in California, now, where
her husband is stationed with the Army.So, it was quite a treat to see her family.We’re glad they could make
it!The other visitors had to head
home, but we were able to stay with Tracey, Rick, and the girls a few extra
days through New Year’s Eve.We had quite the party, playing Wii games into
the New Year.:D

All
of the kids had a blast this year at Christmas.Nolan got the long awaited PSP and some
games to go with it.Garrett got a
Nintendo DS and games.Mandy got
the watch and Barbie computer she asked Santa to bring, as well as a doll house
and fixtures to share with Mia, who got a new baby doll and baby bed.As usual, Nate had the “odd”
request from Santa.He asked for a
leather jacket like his Dad’s, and Santa came through and also brought a
four-wheeled scooter (way cool) and a stuffed doggie.Of course, Grandma and Grandpa, Nana,
and the aunts and uncles loaded all the kids up with gifts, too!

It
was a lot of fun watching Mia this year.It was her second Christmas with us, but she was only 2 last year, and
Christmas is filled with so much more wonder and excitement when you’re
three!She had so much fun with the
family this year!Mandy really
enjoyed it, too.She was full of
questions as she took it all in.She kept telling us, “Nothing like this in China!
Christmas in China
– Eat, Maybe watch TV, Go to bed.”JShe shared a lot of stories with the
family about her life in China
and about how much she is enjoying it here.She had lots of questions about Jesus
and why we celebrate his birth and even deeper questions about how we got the
Bible and why we believe it’s true.She’s pretty good at keeping us on our toes – and
she’s only seven!Yikes!I think the trip was really good for her
and seemed to take another step in solidifying her understanding of her place
in our family.When we got home,
she smiled and said, “Daddy, I really like Christmas!This Mandy’s first Christmas!I think it’s really fun!”

It
was fun watching the boys, too!They are all fun!Nolan is
as passionate as ever, and while his competitiveness with the cousins’
new Wii almost got him grounded a time or two, it was
great watching his enthusiasm and excitement as he played with his
cousins.Garrett’s rapidly
moving out of the little boy stage and into adolescence, and he’s
handling it well.He is such a
caring kid.In spite of the pranks
and one-line cutdowns, he hates to see anyone left
out or treated unfairly (well, unless he and Mandy are having a bad
day…)JNate is
still Nate!What else can I say?As long as he gets an occasional
PB&J sandwich, he’s happy.Santa could have brought him a rock, and he’d be satisfied.(But the leather jacket is SO COOL,
Santa, that he wore it ALL WEEK!Even when he was just hanging around the house!)

Kim
wasn’t left out this Christmas.I got her the Cricut she’s been wanting
for two years.(For those not privy
to the scrapbooking world, a Cricut
is an electronic machine that cuts letters and shapes out of cardstock so that
they can be used in scrapbook pages.That’s the limit of my Cricut
knowledge.If you need more info,
ask Kim!)J

We
are so blessed – not just by gifts and material “stuff”, but
by the wonderful gift that each of children is and by the love of our
family.Patience wears thin when
you have 19 people living in one house for a week, but nobody got hurt, and we
love each other!